Pneumatic rubber shoe sole



,1930. H. A. FREEMAN 1,777,553

I PNEUMATIC RUBBER SHOE SOLES Filed Oct. 24. 1927 FIG.

' \NVENTOR m-wongefs HAROLD a FREEMQN Patented a. 7,1930- UNITED STATES PNEUMATIC RUBBER s-HoE sonntremely resilient, having pneumatic'cushions so that greater ease in walking is possible.

' Another object of the invention is to pro- "vide a sole for foot wear which can be easily,

quickly and cheaply constructed, and which can be easily and quickly applied to foot wear.

With the foregoing andother objects in view which will be made manifestin the followingdetailed description and specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention,

wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the sole; Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken upon the line 33 upon Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the upper surface of the sole. f V V Referring to the accompanylng drawings wherein similar reference characters desig- 3 nate s11n1lar parts throughout, the improved sole is preferably formed .of resilient material such as rubber or its equivalent composition. It is so formed as .to provide a' sole- .shaped section 10 having its edges arranged 3 to conform with'the edges of the sole Icon a shoe S. The edges are preferably'beveled off as 1nd1cated at 11, and near the edges there are apertures 12 for the reception of nalls,

. screws or tacks. Said apertures maybe reinforced by lnserted metal washers 19. The

bottom surface of the sole is so formed or molded as to be corrugated, and in .the preferre'd form of construction there are formed three sets of projections'or corrugations.

i The transverse ribs or projections 13 which are arranged adjacent the toe of the sole, extend downwardly the shortest distance so. that the toeof the sole is fairly solid as compared with the ball of the sole. Across the 5 ball of the sole there are a plurality of projec- "14"forming the second set, and these projections extend downwardly a slightly greater distance than the projections 13. Be-

tween these projectionsorcorrugations there "are projections 15, somefofw'hich may be circular inform and others oblong as shown OFFICE HAROLD A. FREEMAN, or Losimennnsg CA IF-031cm upon'the drawing: These projections extend downwardly from the sole the greatest distance, and all three sets of projections cooperate in forming an antislip'tread. On the top surface ofthe sole there are formed a plurality of. depressions 16, which depressions "are of approximately the same shape as the projections 15. The depressionslfi are alsoarranged in vertical alignment withthe l projections 15 so that the proj ection's 15 may be considered as beinghollow withtheir side wens slightly thinner as shownat17, than the bottom walls. The sole ismanufactured and applied as follows: portion of a shoe to which .the improved sole hasbeen applied;

If the sole is formed of riibber or the like,

is molded and curedor vulcanized. The

mold gives the exterior surface ofthe solef'a smooth, slick surface, and the sole is then placedagainst buffer so that its toprsurface isbuffed olf'orroughened. When this is V accomplished, thesole 1 is cemented to the sole'I" on the shoe S, andthe buffedtop surj face facilitates the ceme'nting'of the sole in place-so that it will be held fast, Ta 'cks,nails orscrews can be "driven through the apertures. 12 to assist holding the solein place. In this j'ections 15. These merely rest against. the ground until the wearer places his weight on the ball of" hisyfoot. This" tend'sto flatten out or squeezethe projections 15until they are even horizontally with the projections 1 which assist in supporting the" weightfof i thewearer. When the projections 15 however, are flattened out, the air entrapped With- ,in the depressions 16 will be compressed so that there is a sensation of walking on a pneu matic sole which gives a feelin of ease. By

virtue of the fact that the sole is somewhat porous, the alternate compressions and partial vacuums formed on the air within the depressions 16, will cause a slight flow of air within the shoe S, tending to cause 1t to be ventilated. The extension 18 formed on the sole is preferablyv provided so that this extension may be attached below the instep of the shoe S, but it will be understood that the particular shape of the sole may be varied.

From the above described construction it will be appreciated that a novel, resilient,

pneumatic sole is provided for foot wear, having a plurality of projections formed upon its i under surface and depressions formed upon its'upper surface in alignment with'the projections, which depressions serve to entrap and hold airwhich can be compressed when the projections are caused to sustain the weight of the wearer Various changes in the details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit or scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim a p v 1. A sole for foot wear comprising a section of resilient material, the bottom surface of which has projections formed thereon providing a tread, the projections near the toeof the sole extending downwardly the shortest distance, there being other projectionsacross the ball of the sole extending downwardly a'greaterdistance, and athird set of projections arranged across the ball of the sole between said other projections which extend downwardly a slightly-greater distance than said other projections, there being depressions formed upon the top surface iof the soleover the projections of the third set; v v

2. sole for -foot wear comprisinga section of resilient materialthe bottom: surface of which has projections formed thereof forming a tread, some of the projections extending downwardly a greater distance than the remaining projections, the said remaining projections being arranged" about and between the longerprojections, there being depressions formed upon theitop surface of the sole in vertical; alignmentwith the longer I projections whereby when the sole is applied to foot wear' said depressions will form air chambers and when the longerprojections are materiallycompressed by the weight be- .ing placed thereon thelendsof the shorterrema1n1ng projections will engage the supporting surfaceand assistin supporting theiload.

In testimony whereof I have signed my nameto this spec e v 1 [HAROLD A. FREEMAN. 

